ms1211

Hi guys - So I am leaving my decision until the last minute and wanted to know your thoughts. I want to focus on media development and I guess AFP, and am deciding between SAIS and SIPA. I have to say, I really loved SAIS when I visited for the open house, but I wanted to get your thoughts on how good SAIS is for careers outside the DC-specific norm. I am also flat out scared of econ, which I haven't taken since freshman year of college eight years ago, and wanted to get a sense of how comfortable people with little prior experience were after the online classes and pre-term. Or for the new admits, how that played in your decision. Thanks very much! Will be having another long day trying to figure this out.

Thanks gomer for your quick response. Still plugging away, trying to figure out if I can get the experience I need via internships in the media area. I really loved SAIS when I visited and the program gives me a degree of comfort that I won't drown in options. Congratulations on your decision!

Hi guys, First time posting, longtime reader. I was admitted into Fletcher/SAIS/SIPA and have been struggling with my decision. With the deadline only a day away, I guess I was hoping to hear your thoughts. I currently work in finance, went to a business school so kind of have a quant background - but not very good at it now, haven't looked at math/econ since freshman year almost 8 years ago - but want to transition into development and media. So. I like that SIPA has a specific media concentration and the director of the program seemed pretty helpful to her students for school year internships and networking. The reasons holding me back from going to SIPA have been pretty well-articulated on this forum, but my main issue with it is that because I am looking to change careers, I feel I may get lost/not know my way around when looking for jobs/internships. On the plus side, there is the opportunity to intern during the year which is important for me. Bringing me to Fletcher - I wasn't a huge fan of the open house, tbh. Been in new york for a very long time and while everyone was exceedingly nice and helpful, and the flexibility of the program is ideal for me, I don't like how isolated it is. I am wavering between wanting to accept for the purely academic focus given my lack of background and nixing it due to the lack of academic year internship opportunities. Thoughts? Finally, SAIS. To be pretty frank, I am scared of the econ reqs and have a few friends there who have described many of their colleagues as pretty type A/hyper competitive. The other major negative - I don't have a writing background and there are no linked schools to explore that part of my interest at SAIS. I learned a lot of the departments are able to offer their own funding, but for me, looking at the course offerings, I am not 100% sure I'd fit into a single department other than AFP, possibly. But, I loved it when I was there. I agree with everyone who's said they really tried to make an impression and I left with a very positive one. I guess if anyone is able to help me with insight into my desired concentrations, SIPA/Fletcher/SAIS curriculum thoughts, please PLEASE let me know! I'm leaving it to the wire and it is totally stressing me out!